FATAL DECEPTION (Red Stone Security #3) by Katie Reus- a review
FATAL DECEPTION is the third e-novella (October 3, 2012 release) in Katie Reus’s romantic suspense Red Stone Security series. Katie has written this series so that each storyline can be read as a stand alone or as part of the whole. Red Stone Security is a high tech firm owned and operated by the Caldwell family. Each son is a former CIA, Navy Seal or Special Forces agent who will eventually need his training when the love of his life faces danger and death. Fatal Deception is Harrison and Mara’s story.
Harrison and Mara’s relationship is already established so there is no character development. They are married and we are not privy to their courtship or how they met. Harrison is a dominant alpha male who requires submission in the bedroom and the only thing they seem to have in common is great sex. Both use sex to detract the other from problems or stress. Mara, on the other hand, is slowly pulling away from her Harrison and he fears that she is either going to run or is having an affair with another man. The couple’s relationship developed quickly and they were married within a short period of time and Harrison finally realizes he doesn’t know his wife as well as he should. Mara is hiding something about her past and it has finally caught up with her life.
Mara’s love for Harrison is never questioned. But she isn’t the woman that Harrison thinks he married. She has a past that has resurfaced and has placed everyone she loves, including her new family, in danger. Hoping to spare their lives, Mara embarks on a series of covert missions to put distance between the Caldwell family and her former life. But when Mara is involved in a traffic collision she knows it is time to reveal the truth. The hidden cache of arms in the trunk could land everyone in prison and end the relationship with man that she loves. And everything will begin to crash around Mara when a co-worker is abducted and Mara is the only person who is able to negotiate her freedom-for a price.
FATAL DECEPTION takes a bit of a different path than Katie’s other Red Stone Security storylines. There is no angst or buildup of the relationship. We do not get any of the intimate details of their courtship or even the how and why’s of Harrison’s involvement with Red Stone Security or his former life. In fact, there is very little of the Red Stone storyline except for a brief appearance of the brothers and their mates as it involves Mara and her past. Fatal Deception is Mara’s story more than a story about the couple. Yes, the sex scenes are hot, but that is basically the only interaction we see between the couple until Mara reveals the truth behind her ‘deception’. Perhaps that is why I did not feel a connection to this couple, because they did not feel a connection to each other.
READING ORDER
1. No One To Touch
2. Danger Next Door
3. Fatal Deception
LINKS TO ORDER
Reviewed by Sandy
Great review, Sandy. It does sound different, as you know the couple, so there is no lead in. Yet it sounds like a great story.
Thanks Barb. The Red Stone Security series is a great series.
Thanks. Great review Sandy. I love Katie’s novels and stories. I have read the other two in the series.
Hi Alicia. Thanks for dropping by. I love Katie’s storylines as well. And she has many novellas, so a quick read when you only have an hour of spare time.